The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Salute The Majesty of Bob Wills

Amazon.com
"Ahhh..." In case you couldn't tell, that was a Willsian exhortation with an English accent. Jonboy Langford is at it again: This second PVC release follows Misery Loves Company, their take on Johnny Cash. Fans of the Mekons and Waco Brothers may be surprised at how relatively tame this tribute is--there are actual melodies, fluid improvisations, and, dare we say, sensitivity. By no means is this disappointing: Langford is smart enough to realize that by "playing it straight," enough of his and his cohorts' personal styles and influences will inevitably show through. Of special note are the peculiar dabbles of Mark Durante's steel and the multi-instrumental talents of John Rice. Kindred spirits such as Robbie Fulks, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Alejandro Escovedo, and Neko Case join the fun (and it sounds like they had lots of fun) on a jolly album that offers enthusiasm, geniality, and simple, suitable respect for the King of Western Swing. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description:
Join the PVC's as they erect a worthy monument to one of the most versatile and beloved figures in all of American music. You get 19 Bob Wills nuggets that show the breadth of his musical magic, from C & W, to western swing, to jazz, to blues, and to all points in between. Bob Wills' own daughter, Rosetta, has given their efforts her blessing as, "the best tribute to my father's music I've ever heard."

The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Salute The Majesty of Bob Wills

The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Salute The Majesty of Bob Wills,The Pine Valley Cosmonauts,Bloodshot Records,Alternative Country-Rock,Country,Pop

Average customer rating:

AN ADMIRABLE TRIBUTE

Bob Wills meets the Mekons

Musically awesome, vocals.....

Great music by talented musicians; less than quality vocals.

If you liked Louis Prima, you'll love this album.

The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Salute The Majesty of Bob Wills
The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Manufacturer: Bloodshot Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music
General | Country | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00000DBYL
Release Date: 1998-10-06

Tracks:

Home In San Antone - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Chris Mills
Trouble In Mind - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Texas Playboy Rag - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Drunkard's Blues - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Kelly Hogan
Across The Alley From The Alamo - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Robbie Fulks
Sweet Kind Of Love - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Jon Langford
Time Changes Everything - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Jane Baxter-Miller
Hang You Head In Shame - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Bob Boyd
Steel Guitar Rag - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Brain Cloudy Blues - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Dean Schlabowske
Right Or Wrong - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Sally Timms
Roly Poly - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Brett Sparks
Pan Handle Rag - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Bubbles In My Beer - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Tracey Dear
Stay A Little Longer - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Neko Case/Bob Boyd
My Window Faces The South - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Edith Frost
San Antonio Rose - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Alejandro Escovedo/Jon Langford
Take Me Back To Tulsa - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/The Meat Purveyors
Faded Love - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts/Jane Baxter-Miller/Rico Bell/Brenden Croker

Amazon.com

"Ahhh..." In case you couldn't tell, that was a Willsian exhortation with an English accent. Jonboy Langford is at it again: This second PVC release follows Misery Loves Company, their take on Johnny Cash. Fans of the Mekons and Waco Brothers may be surprised at how relatively tame this tribute is--there are actual melodies, fluid improvisations, and, dare we say, sensitivity. By no means is this disappointing: Langford is smart enough to realize that by "playing it straight," enough of his and his cohorts' personal styles and influences will inevitably show through. Of special note are the peculiar dabbles of Mark Durante's steel and the multi-instrumental talents of John Rice. Kindred spirits such as Robbie Fulks, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Alejandro Escovedo, and Neko Case join the fun (and it sounds like they had lots of fun) on a jolly album that offers enthusiasm, geniality, and simple, suitable respect for the King of Western Swing. --Marc Greilsamer

Album Description

Join the PVC's as they erect a worthy monument to one of the most versatile and beloved figures in all of American music. You get 19 Bob Wills nuggets that show the breadth of his musical magic, from C & W, to western swing, to jazz, to blues, and to all points in between. Bob Wills' own daughter, Rosetta, has given their efforts her blessing as, "the best tribute to my father's music I've ever heard."

Customer Reviews:

AN ADMIRABLE TRIBUTE.......2001-11-14

MOST OF THE TUNES ARE DRIVEN BY A GOOD SOLID SWING RHYTHUM. THE INSTRUMENTATION BETWEEN STRINGS, BRASS AND REEDS IS WELL-BALANCED. THERE IS JUST ENOUGH INNOVATION FROM BOBS ARRANGEMENTS TO DEMONSTRATE SOME OVERDUE PROGRESSION IN WESTERN SWING. WHAT A PLEASURE TO HEAR GIRLS AS WELL AS THE BOYS "BELT OUT" SOME LIVELY WESTERN SWING. THEY ALL SEEM TO BE HAVING A GOOD TIME LIKE BOB DID---EVEN WITH HEART BROKEN LYRICS. THE QUALITY OF RECORDING AND MIX IS VERY GOOD. IF YOU PREFER THE SAME OLD ARRANGEMENTS, AND OFTEN HE SAME OLD PLAYBOYS, YOU MAY NOT CARE FOR THIS TRIBUTE. BUT IF YOU REVIEW SOME OF THE TERRABLE QUALITY BOOTLEG TAPES OF BOBS LAST YEARS ON THE ROAD, YOU WILL FIND HIM PLAYING FRESH ARRANGEMENTS. SOMETIMES A LITTLE MORE INDIVIDUAL JAZZ-LIKE DEPARTURES AS OPPOSED TO SO MUCH TWIN-FIDDLE TWIN- GUITAR BREAKS OF YESTER-YEAR. THIS TRIBUTE IS A LITTLE UNEVEN AT TIMES, BUT WHO DID ANY BETTER IN 98? ITS TIME FOR A FOLLOW-UP.

Bob Wills meets the Mekons.......2001-10-21

Pretty good musicianship: some good guitar work, nice to hear those mariachi-by-way-of-Lubbock horns on "San Antonio Rose," but the rhythm section doesn't seem to understand that this music is supposed to swing. Oops.

Vocals extremely variable: the girls (especially Kelly Hogan and Jane Baxter-Miller) can sing, but the boys can't, more or less. This is a problem, if, like me, you grew up on the originals. The most painful example is "San Antonio Rose" where Alejandro Escovedo seems lost (and out of his range) while Tommy Duncan's vocals on the original sound nearly effortless. Jimmie Dale Gilmour is wonderfully suited for this material, but the other male vocalists tend to be less successful. Robbie Fulks can sing but exhibits his tendency to degenerate into howling on succeeding verses - Bob Wills as incipient psychopath - hadn't thought of that one.

This one is hard to rate inasmuch as the quality varies so much from track to track.

Musically awesome, vocals............2000-08-09

The Cosmonauts play with zest and enthusiasm. Vocally, this thing runs the gamut. Some vocals are obvoiously phoned in, while others are right on the money.

Give these guys credit for keeping it loose and having fun. While most "tributes" are either staid in their reverance, or needlessly experimental, thsi one hits the perfect balance between reverance and entusiasm. And I can't get enough of Kelly Hogan's singing!

Great music by talented musicians; less than quality vocals........1999-04-15

Wonderful renditions and arrangements of some of Bob Wills' classics by obviously talented musicians. Regrettably, some of the worst vocals I have ever heard.... I knew Bob back in the early sixties...he would have patted his foot to this music, but he would not have sung along.

If you liked Louis Prima, you'll love this album........1999-01-20

A phenomenal cover of Bob Wills and the Texas playboys. John Langford has long had waxed poetically about Bob Wills, and his love and respect shine through on this rolicking, toe tapping, gotta dance, turn up the volume, happy, happy music CD.

Music Album:

Music Album